Leader of breakaway religious sect is under mental evaluation after discovery

PALMDALE - A woman who sparked a massive search throughout the Antelope Valley when she and a religious group she led were reported missing, is under mental evaluation after she and the others were discovered Sunday praying in a Palmdale-area park.

Reyna Marisol Chicas, 32, who was named the leader of a breakaway religious sect, was questioned hours after a jogger spotted her and other adults safe and praying together on a blanket at Jackie Robinson Park in Littlerock, east of Palmdale. Eight children, ranging in age from 3 to 17, were with the adults. Some played on nearby swing sets.

Authorities expressed deep relief after finding the group of 13 at 11:55 a.m. Sunday. They had feared mass suicide after notes left behind described a longing to be transported to heaven to see Jesus and dead relatives.

The notes were addressed to various family members and friends, and were written in English and in Spanish. All of the members of the group are Salvadoran.

The notes prompted the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol to launch an all-out search Saturday and Sunday morning on highways and through deserts and canyons by horseback and with the use of a helicopter.

"The L.A. County Sheriff's Office, the news media and the public went to great lengths to find these people with a hope that we would find them safe and sound," said sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker.

"Mission accomplished."

But questions lingered about Chicas' mental health. The mother of two children appeared bewildered when authorities confronted her at the park. She even told them her name was Nancy, not Reyna.

"The leader, if you will, seems very confused, so we're going to send her for further evaluation," Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said during a press conference.

"She denies she is who we know she is," he added. "We even presented her with documents that say who she is, and she said no that's not me.

"Her intent doesn't seem to be deceiving. She just seems very confused."

Before returning home, the other members of the group said they were surprised that their families thought they would hurt themselves. They told authorities they were Christians and would never harm themselves, Parker said.

The group said they spent the night at the home of a friend of Chicas, then went to the park on Sunday morning.

Members said they saw Chicas as a group leader, and called her a good Christian woman and an inspiration, Parker said.

"But there's no problem," Tejada said after his wife had returned to him. "It wasn't nothing bad. Everything's good."

Tejada said no note had been left for him explaining where his wife had gone. He was upset, because she had taken their 3-year-old son with her.

"The thing is, they didn't leave any notations so everybody started getting worried," Tejada said. "Other people got notes, and that gave us something to worry about."

The search for the group began when the husbands of two missing women told Palmdale sheriff's deputies Saturday they were concerned for their wives and family members. The last time they saw their wives was early Saturday morning.

One of the men told investigators that his wife and others were part of a cult-like group who had been brainwashed by Chicas.

The men were told by Chicas to pray and watch over a purse inside a home in Palmdale that day. They told deputies they later opened the purse and found five cell phones, money, deeds and titles to vehicles as well as personal property, personal identification for several people, and several letters.

"Every single letter reads like a will and testament," Whitmore said. "They were all in letter form. They were addressed to parents or relatives.

Whitmore said the letters expressed thoughts that each member was seeking the afterlife, of seeing Jesus and relatives who had died. Two of the letters were written by 14-year-olds and were identical word for word. "Here's some cash to put to good use, don't worry," Whitmore said, repeating one quote in a letter.

Whitmore said authorities feared the worst.

"I thought `oh my God,' there's some serious intent here."

The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services was called to conduct follow-up interviews with the children, Whitmore said.

Members of the group later said they left their worldly possessions behind because it was sinful to have them with them when praying because they bring evil, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The group had been spotted early Saturday, by a deputy who had stopped and spoke with the members at 3 a.m., hours before they were reported missing. The adults in the group said they were praying against violence in schools and against premarital sex, Parker told reporters.

Parker said the five adults and eight children appeared safe, and were in three vehicles outside Pete Knight High School.

The two husbands told authorities their wives were part of a splinter group that had separated from a Christian church, reportedly Iglesia De Cristo Miel.

Pastor Felipe Vides told The Associated Press Sunday that Chicas left his church two years ago.

Vides said Chicas once sought counseling from the church to deal with marital problems, but other than that she was a nondescript member of his flock, which numbered about 400.

But Vides' church, described by neighbors as charismatic during morning services, was uncharacteristically quiet on Sunday. The wrought iron gates around the giant property were locked.

"Usually it's full right now," said George Corona, a 13-year-old who lives across the way of the church. "They do make a lot of noise and mostly by now they are singing religious songs inside and the kids would be outside playing."

While it was unclear how the group's beliefs differed from Vides' ministry, Whitmore said the husbands suggested Chicas had some sort of hold on the group.

"They said they were concerned for the safety and well-being for their loved ones, and they were afraid they were under the spell of Ms. Chicas," Whitmore said.